Counterpart
by Nutt-Beam
Summary: It is an honor to be named after a god, but does that guarantee your happiness or success. Two souls brought together as a result of their losses, develop a friendship. But when the past claws its way back they face troubles and triumphs and find comfort
1. Prologue: As it Began

**Prologue: as it began.**

It rained the day he was born. Thunder cracked through the sky and the gods above fought a loud battle. The winds blew and huge spirals of sand circled the small village outside Memphis. For the civilians it was an omen of turmoil that was to befall their town. They rushed in flocks through the stormy streets to the Temples of Ra, Set, Atum, Nut and the other gods, in the hopes of saving their village from their wrath. With them were offerings of gifts from their farms and homes to give the gods.

Passersby of the modest sized home in the center of the Village, turned when passing as the screams of a woman in labor reached their ears. However their selfish fear of the gods caused them to avert their eye back to their path and continue to their temple of choice. Not one was caring about what was happening inside the house of the pharaoh's brother. The man in question stood nervously outside a room of the house. Forbidden entry, his eyes squeezed shut at the sounds of his love's pain. His hands clasped together, praying to the gods for the safe delivery of his child and the safety of his wife.

Moments passed but for him it felt like an eternity, soon the door opened and he was broken from his prayers as the sound of a babies soft cries reached his ears.

"You may come in now." came a small voice of the young woman who had helped his wife through the birth. No sooner had the words been spoken, he was at his loves bed side.

She smiled tiredly up at him, for him it was like with that smile the storm started to clear. It was then that his eyes first found the small bundle in her arms; he moved to better see his child. "It's a boy." Whispered the sweet voice of his love, still smiling the biggest he had ever seen.

"A boy?" he mouthed to her returning the smile, no voice coming to him still in his amazement.

She nodded, "would you like to hold your son?" she asked him placing a hand on his arm which held back the blanket around the face of the new child. His eyes met hers and his face lit up at once as he took the small form in his arms.

He was amazed at how tiny his son was, and just by holding him he knew that he would grow to be great. He took one look out the window as the last of the storm vanished. "Have you decided on a name yet?" he asked. She shook her head smiling, knowing what he was thinking exactly. "How about Seth, in honor of the god who guided him here." He said and if possible her smile grew as she nodded and lay back on the bed and watched as her husband gazed at the sleeping bundle in his arms, their son. Seth.

As for her, it was night time. Some say one of the most beautiful nights that Greece ever saw. The stars shone brighter and the moon was full and bigger than anyone had seen. The sea blew in a sweet smelling breeze and lovers walked the streets happily holding hands. The country was at peace, no one fought and enemies joined together in drunken song.

Her mother however could not appreciate the serenity and calm of the night as she struggled to deliver her new child. Her husband's hand in her grip was turning an off color from the grip she had on it. Her second child birth was not going as well as the first. Her eldest child stood half visible in the door way, scared to go in any further than he already was. His mother's screams had woken him from his peaceful sleep, a frightening thought of a monster or demon attack on his family had pulled him from his sheets to inspect the reason for his mothers screams. The poor five year old stood terrified and unnoticed in the door way.

The woman who was helping with the child's birth was worried, it didn't seem to be going easy as it should be, and the child didn't seem to want to be born and was fighting it. She wanted to be able to go and enjoy the perfect evening that the moon goddess had blessed them with and began to prey under her breath for the quick and safe delivery of this child.

As a gust of wind came by and blew at the curtains, a beam of moonlight came through and shone on those in the room, it went almost unnoticed if it weren't for the small boy in the door way who saw. It was at that moment that things changed completely, the birth suddenly became easier as the child decided that it was time to face fate outside the womb.

Soon the new baby girl was in her exhausted mother's arms, sleeping. Only then did the little boy move from his spot, "Mama?" He said slowly stepping forward, both his parents turned to look at him.

"Come in Damian." His father said and at his words, young Damian ran to his parents and tried to look at his new baby sister.

He smiled and looked up at his parents before running to the window, "Thank you moon!" he yelled out to the sky. His parents looked confused at each other.

"Why are you thanking the moon Damian?" asked his mother her voice sounding weak and tired.

"She helped bring my sister here." The young boy said as if it was as clear as crystal, turning back to his parents he looked convinced that the moon had brought his sister to him.

"Really, how do you know that?" asked his father playing along, a smile on his face that could not be washed away. Not even by his sons confusing words.

"The moon shone on her and stopped mama's pain." He said looking at his parents, who seemed to believe him a little more.

"It is a good name for her." said his mother. The father looked down and the sleeping child in his love's arms.

As he looked down and the sleeping face of his only daughter, he thought over the name for her before nodding and whispering one single word, "Selene…"


	2. Chapter One: Crime and Punishment

**Chapter One: Crime and Punishment.**

"Hurry Selene their gaining!" came the voice in front of her. The young blonde girl chanced a look behind her and sure enough the large armored men were a lot closer than they were before. She let out a small giggle and urged her feet to move faster and she soon caught up with her companion a tall skinny boy with shaggy brown hair and damaged and worn clothes like her own. He looked down at her and smiled as they neared the outskirts of the town, close to the forest.

"You know what to do once we get beyond those trees don't you?" the tall boy said panting a little from the exercise and as without missing a beat, he dodged the people on the streets they ran down.

The young girl, Selene, nodded and then realized he hadn't seen her and replied "Yes I keep running till I get to the tree on the other side of the river. But what about you?" she said panting a little almost out of breath from the running.

"I'm going to lose them; we have to get rid of them before we can go home." He said and the trees seemed to speed towards them and soon the heat from the sun was minimized and they were darting through leaves and branches.

She felt him leave her side but kept running just as they had planned this, once she got to the tree she would climb it till she couldn't be seen from the ground, then she could sneak into the hole in the trunk and hide out until her brother came back for her. They had done this many times before, it was the only way they would get any food ever, a price you paid being orphaned street rats. Never had they been caught, and each time it got easier, until now.

The branches grabbed at her clothes and hair and still she ran, fear pounding through her body as she could still hear the pounding steps of the men behind her, this time the plan wasn't going as well as they had hoped. There had been more guards than before and enough to follow both of them. Her feet began to get sore and then she could hear the familiar sound of the flowing river. She sped up at the hope of escaping the men following her.

Suddenly instead of the river and more trees rushing towards her it was the vision of the ground as she tripped and crashed into the earth. She chanced a look behind her and saw that about three men were still following close behind her. She quickly pushed herself up and plunged into the river. The water was deep, almost too deep for her, but she managed to swim her way across quickly and climbed up the shore and disappeared into the growth before the men could follow her.

She didn't dare look back and sprinted to the tree that would be her savior and scrambled up it till she reached the safe gap and squeezed inside. Selene let out the breath she was holding and moved back further into the tree and hugged her knees. She started to prey to the gods that her brother would soon come and get her so that she could just go home, she wasn't having fun anymore.

Her heart was still pounding, her breathing was still fast and her hair and clothes were still drenched, but she felt safe in the tree. Leaning back till she was against the back of the tree, she closed her eyes and savored the serenity of the forest. Moments passed and she believed she was safe. Too soon was her quiet ruined by the sound of shouts and then the slight shaking of the tree as if someone was climbing up it, towards her hiding spot.

Selene pushed her back harder against the tree and wished she could camouflage into it for just one moment. Her heart started pounding again and then she saw the ugly face of the guard who she had kicked in the shins when this whole chase began. He sneered at her and in an instant reached in and pulled her out by the neck of her clothes and dangled her over the branch.

"Get ready for the little wench down there." He yelled down to the others on the ground and Selene's eyes widened, he was going to drop her! It happened quicker than she thought and she soon felt rough arms holding her and soon put her down on the ground again. They were not gentle at all, but that was to be expected. Her small blue eyes widened with fear as she saw what they had done to her brother. He had been badly beaten, his lip was bleeding and his eye was swollen and red, he was hanging off the arms of two other soldiers. At first she feared he was dead and called out to him, "Damian?" she uttered trying to reach him but was held back by the men who had a hold on her arms. Damian managed to lift his head and give her a reassuring smile before dropping it again out of exhaustion and disgrace.

The man who had grabbed her soon appeared next to her and she felt the grips on her upper arms tighten as she and her brother were roughly marched out of the forest and back into the town.

It had been weeks, but it felt like years, a young girl sat alone in a corner of a jail cell. Days since she had seen her brother. Alone and frightened, she didn't dare move from that spot. It was dark and damp, but she had long stopped being afraid, she knew that her brother would laugh at her when he found out she was so terrified. She knew he would come for her soon and they would leave this horrible place.

Long ago she lost track of time and it had been what seemed like eternity since she had seen the sun. When the door was opened the light was almost blinding on her eyes. A young guard had entered and grabbed her by the arm and began to drag her out of the cell.

"A-are you going to take me to my brother now?" she asked. Her voice sounded quiet and rusty because of its lack of use. The guard laughed at her and continued to walk. "Excuse me but is that where we are going?" she asked him once more, starting to sound hopeful.

He stopped and turned to her, "Look girl, where your brother is now…you don't want to go alright." He said harshly and then proceeded to drag her past other cell doors.

"What do you mean? Of course I want to see my brother." She said, not understanding what he could have meant at all. She continued to look up at him with a confused look. He then stopped her once more and turned to look at her this time.

"I hate to be the guy that tells you this but, your brother has gone on, it happened a few days ago," she scrunched up her brow in confusion, the man sighed, "Your brother well, he's dead." He turned and made to continue to take her to where he had been ordered, but Selene had stopped dead in her tracks.

Dead…

The word continued to pound in her ears. She was alone in every meaning of the word now. For a while she couldn't function, nothing worked, her lungs stopped working and she felt like her eyes and ears had gone blind and deaf. Then it came smashing back down and she felt like she had some huge force thrown at her and began to cry. The man who had told her got fed up with waiting for her to walk herself and picked her up off the ground and roughly carried her outside. Throwing her into a cage that was being drawn by horse; it was filled with many other children around her age who all looked like she did, dirty and forgotten. There was a sudden jerk and they all began to move through the town streets. People watched them pass as if they were a diseased parade.

For the first time in weeks Selene saw the sun and the clouds, the stars and the moon. At her first look at the moon since this began she suddenly felt a wamth engulf her, as if she were being embraced. The feeling gave her back the strength she had lost she somehow knew it must be her brother or her parents. There was always a connection between her and her family and the moon.

When the days came she was left to think about what had become of her in nine years of life, she had lost her parents and in that her home and all comphorts, her brother was the only family she had left and now he too was gone. She didn't want to think about it, this was too much for a nine year old to understand and so she tried to take her mind of it by socializing with her fellow prisoners.

"Where are they taking us?" she uttered, almost quieter than a whisper, but a young boy near her heard.

"What you they didn't tell you." It seemed no one was ever telling her anything straight away. "We are being traded to Egypt for foods and material." He spoke almost in fear, the other children started off in a discussion on what they had heard about Egypt.

Egypt, Selene had heard stories of it, large lands of red sands, great creations that reached towards the sky. The people who lived there had dark skin, and it was always hot, all year round. For the remaining time they spent in that cage, Selene spoke to no one. Instead she thought about what her life would be like once she reached her new home. Maybe she could start a new life and not be a street rat any more, she would make herself the most appealing of all the children, so that a wealthy home may buy her for work, at least then she would not have to scavenge for food on the streets.

For the first time in a long time, Selene felt excited


	3. Chapter Two: Love and Honour

**Chapter two: Love and Honour. **

Seth sat at his Mothers bed side, he was trying his hardest to be strong and not cry at the look of weakness that had taken over her once strong body and soul. Even at his young age he knew he had only a limited time left with his mother. He knew he had a father somewhere, he wasn't quite sure where somewhere was but he would find it and make his father pay for breaking his mother's heart so much that she could no longer take it. For a boy of such a tender age eleven Seth was acting so strong for his mother and this softened her broken heart.

She reached out for his hand and spoke to her son, "Seth, it's ok for you to cry in front of me, you don't have to be brave for me anymore, I'm not afraid of the afterlife." She said softly, looking into her sons eyes. He could see the love she still held for him but the light that had been his first memory was gone, long gone.

"Mama, don't leave me, I'll be all alone in the world, and I don't want to be alone." Seth said losing his strong front as the child in him came out at the frightening thought of being alone in the world.

His mother smiled weakly at him, "You could never be alone, and I will always be with you in spirit and in your heart." She said in an attempt to calm her son down taking a hand and placing it over the place where her son's heart was as a way of reassuring him.

"What about in body, you won't be here in body will you; everyone else will see me as alone. What will I do? What will happen to me?" the boy said seeing the flaws in his mother's words and bringing them forward. She took pride in how observant and intelligent her son was and knew she had made the correct decision for his future, but was still greatly saddened at the thought of not being able to witness it.

"I have planned that as well. I have organized for you to go into training to become a priest. The school you will be sent to will take care of you and prepare you to take that honourable position in the temple of your own choosing when that time comes." She said taking a more serious tone with her child. He looked at her a little confused.

"A priest Mother, that is what you wish me to become?" he asked curious as to why his mother had decided he should become a priest instead of a scribe, or military officer or government member. Teaching for these all provided homes to live in while studying and each were respected. So it was curious why she had picked priesthood for him.

"Your father was a priest; I would like to know that his son followed in his footsteps, even if you did not know him very well. You should know he does love you, and I know you will make us both proud." She said sincerely, and this was enough for Seth to hear.

"If it is what will make you happy, I shall do it, since there is nothing else I can do for you mother." He said returning to his front of acting brave.

She smiled at her son, placing a hand on his cheek. Taking in what would be her last chance to look at her son before she passed on into the afterlife and left him an orphan, a single tear slid out of eye as she still continued to smile up at her beloved child.

Seth did not hold back his own tears as his mother's hand slipped from his face and fell to the bed, lifeless. He felt a strange sense of abandonment and hatred for her leaving him and as soon as it was the feeling of guilt for it came also.

* * *

It wasn't long before Seth had made his new home at the Temple of the god of Seth, he was sure the fact that his mother had sent him to train at the temple of the god in which he was named after was supposed to cheer him up. He was trying very hard to be strong and not show any sign of weakness to his new peers despite how scared and alone he felt inside.

Seth was sharing his sleeping quarters with another boy who was a year or so older than him, his name was Adom. Over time he had formed a friendship with Adom and the two learnt almost everything about each other. Adom had three brothers, two older and one younger. His parents were eager to see their sons excel in their lives and had sent Adom's eldest brother to train to become a scribe, his second 

eldest was training to become a royal guard and now Adom was in training to become a priest. Seth gave very little of the story of his family. He did share that he had had one once but had refrained from explaining how it had fallen apart so quickly. Adom respected his desire to keep the rest a secret, it was in his character.

It wasn't long before Seth became head of his class, the dying wish of his mother being the fire that pushed him further ahead of the other boys in the temple. That and the desire to gain forgiveness for that small moment when he had felt she had purposely left him, no matter how small a moment it had been. After a year of training Seth was almost a head of not only the boys of his class but those above him.

At age 13 Seth was sent to continue his training closer to the main city. He wasn't alone on his journey, Adom and some other fellow apprentices were travelling with them. Seth felt like he was walking towards his destiny. Somehow he knew that the rest of his life about to begin.

Often he found himself dreaming of the way his life would be once he became a fully fledged priest. He and the other boys had heard stories of the Pharaohs secret court and their ability to summon mystical monsters. Seth dreamt of becoming one of those men, forever serving the Pharaoh, their king and saviour. He never voiced these day dreams, for a fear he wasn't sure of, perhaps it was a fear of being laughed at or even the fear of whomever he told stealing the dream from him.

The day that their travel party arrived at the village where the temple of Ma'at resided Seth was marvelled at the pure beauty. The village was on the banks of the Nile. A thriving place, the people they passed on the streets all smiled, everyone was friendly and good humoured.

His new surroundings a pleasant change from the harsh desert colours that they had come from. Here there were colours that Seth had never truly witnessed in all their splendour, Blues, Greens, soft colours. He felt at peace and believed that this was truly the right place for the temple of their goddess of truth, justice and harmony.


End file.
